


cry for the devil

by lgbtminkey (betamax524)



Category: SHINee
Genre: (kinda), Alternate Universe - Demon Hunters, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Demons, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, the chapters are generally short because i keep jumping around in time, they also try to kill each other woops, they don't succeed though so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-05 11:09:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21207566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betamax524/pseuds/lgbtminkey
Summary: Minho's spent his whole life hunting demons, it's all he knows. This one shouldn't be any different, but...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> in terms of violence, general warning for like. fights, people and demons getting stabbed. only demons die though.

Minho’s sword is too far away to reach it in time, the demon screaming as it runs towards him. They’ve let this fight go on for too long, and Minho needs to stop it now before the sun rises. He takes his knife, slipping it out of an unassuming holster on his thigh. Pushing himself up from the ground, he manages to cut the demon’s leg, just enough to knock it off balance. 

The demon staggers to the side, hissing and sputtering. Minho grits his teeth, lunging towards it. He grapples with the demon, pushing it to the ground as it thrashes and screams. 

“Minho, here!” Jonghyun yells, sending the sword sliding across the concrete towards them. Minho manages to grab it without the demon clawing his face off, and he moves to hold it against the demon’s neck, getting a garbled scream in his face for his efforts. 

“Ah, just shut up,” he spits, slashing straight through the demon’s throat and beheading it. It gives one last cacophonic scream as it fizzles out. 

He stays kneeling there, catching his breath as everyone else gathers near him. 

“What’s with all the demons lately?” Jinki huffs, wiping sweat off his brow, “We usually get two a month at most.”

“Now it’s like they’re coming out every week,” Jonghyun agrees with a grunt. “We’re not as young as we used to be.”

“Speak for yourself,” Taemin snorts, giggling as Jonghyun glares at him in shock. 

Minho shakes his head as he stands up, brushing the dirt off his pants. “It’s like… something’s calling them,” he says, picking up his sword and tucking his knife back into the holster. He frowns at the new scratches on his sword. He’ll have to get it fixed before another demon shows up. 

*

Maybe it’s some sort of sixth sense, or maybe Taemin’s paranoia is rubbing off on him, but Minho can  _ feel _ that there’s something different in the air. He searches the crowd, heart beating loudly in his chest. 

He spots a shock of blonde hair on the other side of the street, and he pushes through the crowd to follow it. Eventually they end up on a relatively empty street, and Minho figures it’s his chance.

“Excuse me,” he calls out.

They turn around, and Minho’s speechless at just how  _ beautiful _ they are. But their eyes shine red in the sunlight, and Minho remembers what he followed them for.

“Oh, I’m sorry… I thought you were a friend of mine,” he lies.

They smile, tilting their head slightly. “I can be your friend if you want me to be.”

_ Okay. That’s… odd,  _ Minho thinks. But he can’t pass up the chance to get closer to his target.

“Why don’t I buy you some coffee?”

*

His name is Kibum, Minho learns, and apparently he’s new to this part of Seoul. He orders a drink with seven shots of espresso, and Minho’s sure there’s no way he’s human.

“We should see each other again sometime,” Kibum says as he gets up from the table. “It’d be nice to have a friend around here.”

_ A friend that’s going to kill you, sure. _ Minho thinks.

“No problem. Let me give you my number,” he says instead.

The cross on his necklace seems to heat up, and Minho wonders if it’s his father telling him to watch out.


	2. Chapter 2

Kibum is charming, all sweet smiles and pretty words. The demons Minho’s seen until now have been writhing, growling monsters that barely passed as human. Even regular people, when possessed by a demon, violently shifted into nightmarish copies of what humans were supposed to look like. 

Kibum, with his dimples and doll lips, probably looks human to everyone else around them. He catches Minho off-guard sometimes, with the way his eyes sparkle when he laughs. 

The fact that he notices such things about him is troubling, to say the least. He’s supposed to observe him, to figure out his patterns, his weaknesses… He’s not supposed to memorize the angles of his face in the sun. 

His father is probably rolling in his grave right now, Minho thinks. And yet even with the guilt of the cross hanging on his necklace, he can’t seem to resist Kibum. 

Maybe he’s falling for a spell… Maybe Minho  _ wants _ to fall… 

He can’t stop thinking about him, no matter how hard he tries. Whether it’s thinking about the unreal, almost porcelain pale of his skin, or thinking about tracing the contours of his chest with a blade before he kills him.

He’s going mad, and yet he keeps coming to him, drawn like a moth to a flame, like a butterfly landing on Nabokov’s fingers. 

It’s not like Minho’s just doggedly following Kibum around, either. Kibum seeks him out too, spending as much time as he can with him, waiting for him in the coffee shop they first "met" at. 

It feels like they’re dancing around each other, coming close but still too far to touch.

Minho’s not sure who’s the one being hunted here. 

*

“They’re getting stronger,” Jinki grits out, keeping his eyes trained on the demon, “We have to get the first hit, and we have to make it count.”

Minho closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. As the days pass by, demons have been showing up closer to Kibum’s place. Minho would be a fool to ignore it. 

“Get ready,” he hears Jinki say, and he opens his eyes to see that the demon has its back towards them, giving them the perfect chance to strike. 

He breathes out slowly. He has a job to do. 

They can’t just charge into battle like they used to. These demons drool blood and are big enough to knock them out with one strike. Jinki observes and plans, but it’s Minho’s responsibility to give actual orders, to switch strategies quickly and avoid getting pummeled by demons. 

“I’ll sneak up on it and take the first shot, then you guys just keep hitting while it’s down,” he says, drawing his sword. 

“How are you so sure you’ll take it down at once?” Jonghyun says.

“Doesn’t hurt to think positive,” Minho answers, slipping away before Jonghyun can say another word. He sidles up behind the demon, careful to control even his breathing.

Just as Minho raises his sword, the demon looks behind itself and spots him. He hears Jinki scream at him to run, but Minho just lunges forward with all his strength, pushing the cool silver blade through the demon’s twisted flesh.

It howls, skin burning, and it reaches for Minho’s head. An arrow flies straight into the demon’s eye, just before its claws scratch his skin. It staggers back with a scream, and Minho uses the moment to pull out his sword and strike at the beast again.

Another arrow flies, striking the demon’s shoulder. Jonghyun grits his teeth, slowly walking closer as he aims his crossbow again. The demon flails, desperately pulling at the arrows buried into its skin

Minho ends up using this chance to thrash at the beast repeatedly, chest heaving from the effort. He’s never been this messy, this careless, but he feels like something’s taking over him, like the anger and confusion running in his head needs to  _ get out. _

Jinki has to pull him away and deliver the final cut himself. They all stand there, catching their breath as the demon fizzles away.

“You two go on ahead,” Jinki says to Jonghyun and Taemin, “Give us some time alone.”

Minho looks away. He knows Jinki’s mad, and he’ll probably want an explanation. He watches as Jonghyun and Taemin disappear past a corner, and braces himself for Jinki’s anger.

But it never comes. Instead, Jinki just sighs, long and deep.

“Don’t ever pull that shit again,” he says softly, “You’re too stubborn for your own good.”

Minho closes his eyes, leaning back against the wall. “Sorry, don’t know what got into me,” he says.

Jinki just shakes his head. “C’mon, we need to go home.”


	3. Chapter 3

Kibum asks him if he’s free tomorrow, and Minho agrees to meet him for coffee, like always. He seems a bit… out of it when Minho sees him, lost in thought. Minho has to snap him out of it sometimes, and all he gets is Kibum shaking his head and mumbling some sort of apology.

Even then, they end up walking to Kibum’s place anyways. Minho doesn’t know why he isn’t making some excuse to go back home.

Maybe he doesn’t want to go home just yet.

The apartment is quiet, and the tension is so thick that Minho can feel it, enveloping them and almost choking him.

“Minho,” Kibum says slowly, “I have something to tell you.”

Minho turns to look at him, and Kibum’s eyes turn dark. 

“I knew you even before we met,” he says, “Your father—”

“What  _ about  _ my father,” Minho says coldly, “How do you even know about that?”

Kibum leans his head back, and his eyes glow red. “Who do you think took him away in the first place?”

*

_ “Please… I need you to save my son,” the man said quietly, still kneeling before him. “I’ve tried everything. Doctors, witches, faith healers… Nothing has worked.” _

_ “So you come to me?” Kibum scoffs.  _

_ “I’ll give you my soul in return,” the man says, and Kibum stops. “Just… give me a week— Even just a few days. I just want to see him healthy and happy before you have to take me away.” _

_ Kibum narrows his eyes. Usually people who make contracts with demons are self-serving. ‘Give me riches,’ ‘Make me beautiful,’ ‘Punish the people I hate.’ And Kibum has no problem with that, as long as they pay up in the end.  _

_ But for someone to give up their life in exchange for someone else’s? Just like that?  _

_ “You’re a madman,” Kibum sneers, “What makes you think I’ll keep my promise? I could easily kill your son after I take your soul.”  _

_ The man finally looks up at him, eyes steely with determination. “I’ve dealt with your kind before. And I know you will always keep your side of the contract.” _

_ That’s when Kibum notices the necklace around his neck, the ornate cross that demon hunters wear as a badge of honor. _

*

It’s like all his anger takes over him, all his grief and his pain. He ends up pinning Kibum against the wall, wrapping his hands around his neck. He wonders if he could actually just rip Kibum’s head off himself.

“You didn’t think this was all a coincidence, did you?” Kibum says, even as Minho’s grip tightens, “You’re the son of a feared demon hunter, you’re supposed to be  _ smart _ .”

“Just shut up,” Minho spits, visibly shaking, “It was you, it was all you—”

Kibum stares up at him, eyes cold, “Let go of me,” he says.

“Fat chance,” Minho hisses, and Kibum narrows his eyes and knees him in the stomach.

He’s stronger than he looks, and Minho staggers back. Before he can recover, Kibum somehow claws into his side, and he stumbles to the floor.

*

_ Minho doesn’t remember much of that day. It’s probably better that way.  _

_ He remembers a large, shadowy figure, looming over his father. He remembers looking into empty eyes, limbs shaking as he held his father’s sword.  _

_ He remembers his father telling him to run.  _

_ Minho was always a little too stubborn.  _

*

“You were too kind to me,” Kibum sighs, “What a fool.”

Minho doesn’t say a word, angling his arm downwards. The knife he keeps tucked away in his jacket slips into his hand, all without Kibum noticing. 

The blood blooming across his stomach is probably a good distraction. 

“You should’ve known that this was coming, I expected more from someone like you…” Kibum crouches over him, delicately brushing his fingers through Minho’s hair.

“Ah, Minho… you’re beautiful like this,” he whispers, almost lovingly, “So defenseless and weak.”

Minho scoffs. “I could say the same for you.”

Kibum’s eyes barely have time to widen before Minho stabs him in the gut, the pure silver of his knife burning Kibum’s flesh. While Kibum’s frozen in shock, he pushes him down, reversing their position earlier. His side hurts like  _ hell,  _ but he figures it’s just as bad, if not worse, for Kibum. 

Kibum sputters, making choked sounds as blood starts to flow out of his mouth and nose. Minho keeps the blade inside him, knuckles almost white as he grips at the handle. 

It should be easy. He’s done this a hundred times, maybe even more. But his chest aches as he watches Kibum gasp for air, hands clawing at the blade. 

Even if he squeezes his eyes shut, even if he grits his teeth and tries to bear it, even if he imagines that Kibum is nothing more than all the other demons he’s killed— 

He pulls out the knife in one swift motion, and he manages to get up and stagger out the door, leaving Kibum coughing out blood on the floor, but still very much  _ alive.  _

He pretends he doesn’t hear Kibum weakly calling for him. 

*

“Minho, what the  _ hell?! _ ” Jinki yells the second he yanks the door open. Minho’s braced against the doorframe, wheezing and clutching at his side. The blood’s drying uncomfortably on his hands, and his shirt is sticking to his skin and his head is spinning and— 

The last thing he hears is Jinki yelling again as he collapses to the floor. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings for a brief mention of vomit/vomiting

Minho’s half-awake when he starts to feel a headache pounding in his temples. He doesn’t even bother opening his eyes, just groans and turns around to bury his face in his pillow.

He hears the door open, and he tries to sink deeper into the pillow, dreading the prospect of being woken up for the day. He’s almost waiting for maybe Jonghyun or even Jinki to scold him for still being in bed so late, but all he hears is an awkward shuffle. 

“What?” he grunts, face still pressed into the pillow, “Better be important.” 

“You’re awake,” he hears Taemin say, and he’s too tired to wonder why it isn’t Jonghyun or Jinki.

Minho scoffs, “Yes, Taemin. But I want to go back to sleep.” 

“Minho,” Taemin says, serious, “You’ve been out cold for days.”

Minho turns around and sits up, staring at Taemin in confusion. “You’re joking.” 

Taemin shakes his head. “I don’t think your wound would’ve healed like that overnight.”

His wound— Minho lifts up his shirt, and the bloody mess he remembers is now stitched up and starting to scab over. Shit. 

“How long…?” he croaks. 

“Four days—” Taemin says immediately. “I… I’ve been keeping count.” 

*

Kibum heals fast, but he still throws up blood and bile, crouched over a toilet bowl with tears stinging his eyes. The burning sensation of silver cutting him open won’t go away, and when he presses his hands against the wound, he half-expects them to come back singed black. 

When he feels like there’s nothing left in his body to vomit, he rests his head against the toilet he never uses and tries to catch his breath. There’s still blood pooled on the floor— both his and Minho’s. 

*

_ Six days and six nights. That’s what Kibum tells him. Before the seventh day, he will be taken away, his own soul the price to pay for his son’s life.  _

_ Kibum keeps watch on the man, counting the days before he takes him away. _

_ Somehow, he can’t stop watching as he holds his son in his arms, taking every chance to be with him. He plays with him, no matter how childish his son’s games are, and he watches him so, so carefully, so intently, as if any moment could be his last. _

_ It’s unfair, Kibum thinks. People who made contracts with demons were supposed to be selfish. How could take away a man who only wanted to save someone else? _

_ His son looks at him so lovingly too, as if the man himself had hung up the moon and stars. All they had was each other…  _

_ He’s jealous, maybe. Jealous that happiness like that could even exist in the face of impending death.  _

*

Minho spends the next few days gathering his thoughts. They all fuss over him, bringing him soup and checking his wound, and Minho lets them. His mind is elsewhere, deep in thought and lost in his anger.

He can’t let his father down.

After a week, he’s well enough to eat with them at the table. Minho picks at his food, lost in thought, and Taemin gives him a strange look.

“Not hungry?” he asks, mouth still full.

“I’m going out,” Minho says instead, standing up from the table and pushing his plate back. “Don’t wait up for me.”

“It’s too dangerous,” Jinki says, standing up to grab Minho by the wrist, “I can’t let you risk your life like that.”

“I have to go,” Minho says through clenched teeth, “You don’t understand—” 

“We almost  _ lost _ you,” Jonghyun pleads, “We barely managed to save you.” 

“Besides, all the demons are gone now,” Taemin says, “We haven’t had another sighting while you were out cold. It’s all over now.”

“No, it’s not,” Minho says, “I have unfinished business.”

Jinki stares at him. “The powerful demon,” he says slowly, “He’s still alive, isn’t he?”

Minho looks away, and that’s all the answer Jinki needs.

“ _ We’ll _ take care of him,” Jinki says sternly, “You’re not even fully healed yet. He must be weak since he can’t call on any more demons.”

Minho yanks his hand back. “I’ll kill him  _ myself _ ,” he spits, “I  _ need  _ to." 


	5. Chapter 5

It’s ridiculously easy to make his way to Kibum’s place, and the door is unlocked, even. Minho wonders if he’s falling into another trap.

He walks inside anyways, and he finds Kibum sitting on his bed, staring into the distance.

“You’re here to finally kill me, aren’t you?” Kibum says softly. 

Minho can’t answer him. 

“I’m not an idiot, Minho,” Kibum sighs, “I hurt you— no, I  _ killed _ you.” 

“All I do is hurt you. It was what I wanted to do from the start… I don’t think I can change that,” Kibum rambles, “It’s what I deserve—”

“Why did you do it?” Minho asks.

“I want to go  _ home _ ,” he mumbles, “I haven’t been back in ages. They won’t let me in, because I did something wrong.”

“Kibum,” Minho says slowly, “What  _ really _ happened to my father?”

Kibum looks at him, and sighs. “I couldn’t do it,” he says weakly, “I couldn’t take him away.”

*

_ As the sun sets on the sixth day, Kibum watches as the man tucks his son into bed.  _

_ "Minho, I love you. Please don’t forget that…"  _

_ The boy chuckles, laughter turning into a yawn. "Why would I forget? You’re so silly sometimes, Papa."  _

_ The man smiles, but his eyes are sad. He takes off his necklace, carefully tying it behind the boy’s neck before letting him lie down.  _

_ "Happy birthday, Minho," he says, "Mama and Papa love you. Never forget that. Even if Mama isn’t here anymore, she loves you so much."  _

_ "Love you too," the boy says sleepily, "Both you and Mama…"  _

_ Both Kibum and the man watch as the young boy falls asleep, still clutching his father’s hand. The light of the streetlamps through the window bathes them in warmth, the ornate cross almost glowing.  _

_ In that moment, Kibum leaves. He doesn’t look back.  _

*

It feels like all the wind’s been knocked out of his chest, and Minho stands there, quiet and confused.

“They found out,” Kibum says, shaking his head, “I broke the rules of the contract, and they had to make sure it was fulfilled.”

“... So why me?” Minho asks, “What do I have to do with all of this? They already took my father away, what else did you need?” His voice shakes slightly, overwhelmed with hurt.

“One soul,” Kibum says, “One soul was all it took to cast me out. I figured, if I brought back the soul I gave away, then…”

“But  _ why _ ,” Minho begs.

Kibum sighs, and finally looks Minho in the eye. “Do you know how it feels to have everything ripped away from you? Do you know how it feels to be so  _ alone?” _

_ Ah. It all makes sense now, _ Minho thinks.

“Yes,” he says softly.

*

Minho whispers prayers onto his heated skin, and for a moment Kibum feels alive… Sacred, even, the burden off his shoulders as Minho holds him tightly in his arms. 

Kibum wants him,  _ needs _ him, and when Minho kisses him it feels he’s breathing life back into him. There’s something poetic about it, Kibum thinks, the prince of Hell giving himself up to a human who hunts his kind. 

“Why are you… so kind to me?” he says, voice barely a whisper, “I’ve done nothing but hurt you…”

Minho can’t answer him, not yet. He’s not sure himself. 

They fit together so easily, two lonely souls finding solace in each other. Minho wonders if this was what they wanted, what they needed, all along.

*

“I didn’t want to hurt him…” Kibum says. 

Minho doesn’t say anything, and he sits still, watching the sunlight shift across the planes of Kibum’s face. 

“That was my biggest mistake,” Kibum says, voice small, “If it wasn’t for me, he’d—” 

Minho doesn’t let him finish that thought as he leans down to kiss him again, pretending he doesn’t feel the tears welling up in his own eyes. 

He owes his  _ life _ to him, despite everything. 

“I want to stay with you,” he confesses, voice barely above a whisper, “I feel like… I _need_ to be with you.” 

Kibum stares at him, but his eyes are gentle and warm.

“I think… I need you too.” 


	6. epilogue

_ “I don’t want to hurt them,” Minho had said, “I don’t think they’d forgive themselves… After all, I  _ am  _ giving up my soul.” _

_ “But what about you…?” Kibum asked. _

_ “As long as they’re safe, that’s enough for me,” Minho answered with a small smile. _

Taemin was always a deep sleeper, and Minho manages to sneak into his room without him even stirring in his sleep. He looks so peaceful like this, sound asleep, snoring slightly.

Minho sits on Taemin’s bed, brushing some of his bangs away from his face. He takes off his necklace— his father’s necklace— and places it on Taemin’s open palm, curling his fingers around the pendant.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be the hero I promised to be,” he whispers.

Taemin doesn’t make a sound, completely asleep. Minho can’t help but smile at that. He leans in to press a gentle kiss to his forehead, before getting up to leave.

“Take care of yourself, okay?”

*

Kibum is waiting for him when he slips outside, and he reaches out to hold Minho’s face in his hands.

“Will you be okay?” he asks, brows furrowed in concern, and Minho realizes he’s tearing up.

Minho swallows, blinking away the tears. “Yeah… I’ll be fine. As long as I’m with you.”

Kibum smiles gently, as beautiful as he was when Minho first saw him. Despite everything, he adores him, and he’s sure he always will. 

Kibum takes his hand, twining their fingers together. "Good thing you’ll be with me forever, then," he jokes, chuckling softly. 

The streetlamps bathe Kibum’s skin in a soft glow, just enough for Minho to see the gentle blush blooming on his cheeks. Hand in hand, they walk into the distance, and they don’t look back. 

Minho’s sure that this time, they’ve made the right choice.

_ End. _

**Author's Note:**

> hell yeah... finally... some things might be a bit vague but i hope u enjoyed! im on twitter as @lgbtminkey, let's talk about minkey!!!


End file.
